


i need someone to glance at when other people inevitably annoy me

by rinthegreat



Series: Texts From Last Night [3]
Category: Free!
Genre: Friendship, Humor, M/M, Minor Angst, Post Season 2, Pre-Slash, the saga continues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 12:24:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13903968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinthegreat/pseuds/rinthegreat
Summary: Sousuke gets sick of Makoto stressing over Rin's visit and offers a solution





	i need someone to glance at when other people inevitably annoy me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kattebaka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kattebaka/gifts).



> this one is for [kattebaka](https://twitter.com/kattebaka) on Twitter! it starts to get sappy. whooooooooops
> 
> once again this was only edited once and is unbetaed. once again this is longer than a drabble. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> quick edit: the TFLN was misspelled and i decided to change it
> 
> MANY THOUSANDS OF THANKS TO BRICKER FOR DISCOVERING I'D MISLABELED THE SHIP

_Let’s hang out_ quickly transforms into a group outing as Makoto had suspected it would. He’d figured that would mean all four of them would go to dinner together, Haru and Rin would disappear to swim, and Rin would go back to Sousuke’s to stay the night.

What he hadn’t banked on were all the others.

Gou had told Rei and Nagisa, and the three of them are scheduled to arrive in Tokyo about an hour after Rin does. Somehow, the Samezuka team had also heard, so now the Momo and Nitori are due on the same train, and Mikoshiba is joining them once his younger brother arrives.

Eight people aside from Makoto and Rin are expected to hang out, and he goes from looking forward to April 14th to dreading it.

“How long is he staying?” Makoto asks Sousuke for the tenth time. He knows he’s being annoying, but he can’t help it.

“Makoto, I will change my locks,” Sousuke threatens, squinting up from where he’s been hunched over his textbook. He still insists on pretending he doesn’t need reading glasses, even though Makoto knows better.

It’s just the two of them, studying in Sousuke’s sparkling clean apartment while Haru is at swim practice. Rin is due to arrive in under twenty four hours, and both of them have been cramming to get their homework done in time.

Of course Australian breaks couldn’t coincide with Japanese ones.

“I just want to try and have dinner with him. Or coffee,” Makoto frets. After that drunken night over a month ago, he’d given up on pretending he hasn’t been smitten for Rin since the other swimmer first helped him become comfortable in the water. Back in elementary school.

It’s been a long time.

“I can arrange for the entire team to get lost,” Sousuke offers sarcastically.

“You wouldn’t have to arrange it if you lead the way,” Makoto shoots back faster than his brain can stop his mouth.

Sousuke raises his eyebrow. “I regret teaching you sass,” he states.

Makoto winces, feeling bad, though he’s learned better than to apologize for things Sousuke doesn’t think are worthy of an apology. “I don’t want to steal him away from everyone. Gou is his sister, and Nitori idolizes him. You’re his best friend, and Haru…well…their relationship is complicated.”

Sousuke grunts.

“But they’re only going to be here for the weekend. Maybe I can get lunch with him during the week before he goes to Sano,” Makoto continues. “Even if you and Haru are there that would be fine. Something with just the four of us.”

Sousuke slams his textbook shut. “Tell you what. You get Rin from the airport tomorrow so I can finish my homework, since I’m clearly not going to finish it now.”

“What?” Makoto asks, feeling a little hysterical. “I couldn’t possibly…”

“Accept the offer before I change my mind, Tachibana.”

“I accept,” Makoto rectifies immediately.

Sousuke lets out a breath and pulls out his phone. “What are you doing?” Makoto sits up on his knees, leaning over the coffee table. Sousuke immediately moves the phone out of the way.

“Forwarding you his itinerary. Calm down or I _will_ kick you out.”

Makoto sits back down, heart racing even though he hasn’t worked out in three days. “I can do this,” he tells himself. “I can definitely do this.”

\---

**[The next day]**

He can’t do this.

Makoto makes it to the airport, wanting to help Rin carry his bags. He even bought the train tickets for them in advance so Rin wouldn’t have to worry about it.

But the second he gets there, he panics.

He hasn’t texted Rin to let him know that he’s getting him instead of Sousuke, and he doesn’t know if Sousuke has. Makoto’s asked him three times, but he gets the feeling Sousuke’s muting his messages.

So instead he stands in the terminal that the arrivals screen tells him Rin’s flight will land in, shifting from side to side as he watches the exits. He’s aware that he looks suspicious, and every time a security guard walks past him, he’s afraid he’s going to be dragged away and detained. Probably as soon as Rin appears.

Oh god…

He gets increasingly nervous to the point that he almost misses it when Rin actually appears. The patented Matsuoka red hair gives him away, though, and Makoto waves. He feels like a crazy person, especially when Rin looks the wrong way to start with.

Makoto keeps waving, even as his arm gets sore, and Rin finally turns and catches sight of him. He pulls his bag higher over his shoulder. His wide…strong…

Focus.

“Hey Makoto,” Rin greets him with a grin, stopping right in front of him. “You guys all come to pick me up?”

Makoto tells himself not to get too upset. After all, it _is_ strange for Makoto to be here by himself. The two of them haven’t been alone together since Rin first came back from Australia. At least not that Makoto can remember.

“Uh, no,” he replies, shifting his weight awkwardly again. “Just me.”

To his surprise, Rin’s entire face brightens into a grin. “Awesome.” He looks around. “I need to get my train ticket.”

“Oh,” Makoto pulls out the tickets he already bought. “I got them already.”

“I’ll pay you back.”

Makoto shakes his head. “No. You don’t need to.”

“Those are expensive –“

“I insist,” Makoto cuts him off. “You just got here, don’t worry about things.”

Rin’s smile softens into something that makes Makoto’s heart skip a beat. “Thanks.”

Despite getting constant updates from Sousuke, Haru, and even Rin himself, Rin babbles to Makoto as they walk to the train. He talks about his training – “more brutal that what I put myself through senior year, seriously” – his team – “they’ll never replace you guys or Samezuka though” – and his classes – “I’m really glad I studied abroad in middle school now.” Makoto couldn’t be happier to hear it all in Rin’s voice rather than through a mass email.

“And what about you? Haru said you’re not really swimming anymore,” Rin asks once they’re boarded.

It’s a forty minute train ride to where they’re meeting the rest of the group, and Makoto doesn’t think he can avoid talking about himself the entire time, but he had definitely planned on trying. “Not really,” he admits. “I’ve done a few public events, and I still try and workout regularly, but I’m not training anymore.”

He expects some pushing from Rin, some romantic speech about how swimming is the most important thing in the world. What he doesn’t expect is the nod and response he receives instead. “Yeah, if you don’t love it it’s not really worth it.”

Something about his expression must convey his confusion because Rin laughs and looks out the window at the scenery zooming past. “I know, never thought I’d say that before either. But I’ve seen a lot of people get burned out.” He scratches the back of his head. “I also got yelled at for being naïve.” Rin shrugs. “So now I try to be more understanding about people not feeling the same way about swimming I do.”

“That’s…” Makoto pauses trying to come up with something that makes him sound less smitten than he is. “…Mature of you.” He winces.

Rin doesn’t seem to mind Makoto’s awkward reply. He turns back to Makoto, laying the full force of his attention on him. “You’re happy though, right?”

“Yes,” Makoto breathes. Right now he doesn’t think anything could make him unhappy.

“That’s good, then.”

The tension in Makoto’s shoulders eases as they talk, finding it easier to be in Rin’s presence than he’d previously imagined. If Sousuke had hoped having Makoto pick Rin up would put a stop to the crush, then he was wrong. If anything, this just makes it stronger.

Because as it turns out, talking with Rin is surprisingly natural. They swap stories about their classes, things Rin hadn’t emailed them, and their classmates. Makoto glosses over his drunken escapades, thankful when Rin doesn’t push it.

But the tension returns again as they get closer and Rin asks what their plans for the weekend are. Makoto’s reminded sharply of just how short his time alone with the other is.

“Nagisa and Rei are staying in my apartment, and Gou is going to stay in Haru’s,” Makoto lists off. “Mikoshiba is hosting his brother and Nitori, and Sousuke has the couch set up for you.”

Rin whistles. “That’s…more people than I expected.”

“Everyone wants to see you,” Makoto points out the obvious. All of the others have a special connection with Rin some way or another, unlike him. He’s only ever been friends with Rin by proxy. Maybe…he should let them spend time with him instead.

Makoto’s heart sinks, and he does the only thing he can think of. “I could take your things back to Sousuke’s place while you go out with them,” he offers.

“What?” Rin asks sharply. His face goes through several emotions before understanding dawns over it. “Oh is that why you came to get me? You’re busy this weekend?”

“No,” Makoto admits. “I just thought…”

Rin glares. “You’re not abandoning us because you think you’re being a burden, are you?”

“Um…”

“Absolutely not,” Rin declares, stubborn.

“Rin,” Makoto starts, but Rin interrupts him.

“No way. I need you there. I need someone to glance at when other people inevitably annoy me.”

Makoto can’t help it. He snorts. “They’re your friends.”

“Doesn’t mean they don’t annoy me,” Rin points out. When Makoto doesn’t respond with more than a chuckle, Rin nudges his shoulder. “Seriously. I want you there. I promised we’d hang out, so stick with me this weekend and I’ll treat you with coffee between classes.”

Makoto has to turn away before Rin can see how pink his cheeks turn. “I’d like that,” he admits. “I’d like that a lot.”

He feels Rin’s responding grin before he even sees it.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://rinthegreat.tumblr.com/)   
>  [Twitter](https://twitter.com/rinthegreat_ao3)   
>  [prompts list](https://twitter.com/rinthegreat_ao3/status/970875715003367424)


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